Our days and weeks are starting to become routine, Wednesday is our late shift and I keep busy parking campers and refilling propane bottles. Thursday and Fridays are mowing days and we cook breakfast on our week end shifts.
I like to read about others experiences at their work camping jobs as well and most of the bloggers I follow who are work campers have arrived and started their seasonal jobs. Rudee and I both love to read about others' experiences and are always on the look out for future jobs.
Some of our "blogger buddies" are, like us, working in a private campground doing much of the same duties we are doing here. There are others who are working in public campgrounds and National Forests as campground hosts. Their duties are a little different in that they seem to be more "managers" of their little slice of heaven in the woods. We want to try that one day!
The number and variety of work camping jobs seems only limited by your imagination. I was watching TV last night and they showed a blip about the Clark County Gun Range near Las Vegas NV. I have seen them advertise for work campers in the past and thought how interesting it would be to work there and here it was being shown on TV.
One couple we follow is working (and living) at a Llama ranch assisting the owners caring for the animals. That could be a fun and interesting job! Picture yourself sitting around a campfire in Quartsite Arizona one night with a large group of campers telling them how you helped birth a Llama!
Besides a way to make a little extra cash we plan on using work camping as a way to experience new areas and have several on our radar for the future. I'm a sucker for a nice view of the mountains :-).
We report for duty today at 11am. Today is mowing day and since we have had rain several times in the last week the grass has really shot up! I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
busy week
Ooops, I sure didn't mean to let a full week pass between postings. This past week it seemed like all we did was work and sleep. We were pretty busy working on the park to make it presentable for the KOA inspectors due in late in the week. Each year teams of inspectors travel to each KOA and inspect the facilities. I got the chance to take a peek at the book of guidelines they send to the owners that lists all the "requirements" down to what they should have on their store shelves.
The requirements are pretty extensive but this campground was already doing things "by the book" so we concentrated on making sure things were looking spiffy.
Thursday was a tough day for me. We have had a lot of rain and several of the lower lying areas in the park couldn't be mowed with the riding mower until things are completely dry. Since the inspectors were coming and it didn't look like things would be dry enough for another couple of days, I manned the push mower and started mowing the wet grass. It was hard work and I spent over 4 hours slogging through the wet areas pushing (and pulling!) the mower. Thursday was also the hottest day of the week with the temperature reaching 87 degrees mixed with 80% humidity making it a miserable day to be working outside. I took several breaks in the shade and Rudee brought me ice water several times to help me keep cool.
Once we were off work and I had taken a shower, we headed out on the bike for a "cool down" ride. We headed to Greencastle where Rob and Jany met us on their Goldwing. We had a nice visit and dinner at The Fairway Restaurant before riding back home.
Starting Fridays we report for work on the early morning shift from 8am until 1pm. Normally we don't start any yard work until at least 10:30 so we don't disturb the campers but this morning the owner wanted me start mowing with the riding mower and also do some weed eating. I headed for the shop where I gassed up the rider and tried to start it. All I heard was "click" when I turned the key, so I dug out a battery charger and hooked it up. Guess I'll try the weed eating first. I gassed the weed eater up and luckily it started and I got to work.
The grass was still wet and the weed eater tended to kick up spray, wet grass and mud. I was a mess once I finished and hopped in the shower (again!) as soon our shifts ended.
With the rest of the afternoon off we headed to Plainfield to visit Rudee's parents, pick up our mail in Brownsburg and meet up with friends Tim and Linda for dinner. We had not seen them since last October and it was fun catching up with everything that has happened since then.
We made it back to the 5er around 10pm, another late night and early work shift, man this retired lifestyle is starting to get rough! I need a day off! :-)
The inspectors arrived Sunday afternoon and started their inspections shortly after getting their rig set up. KOA provides them with a pick up truck and 5th wheel to live and travel in while doing their inspections. That would be pretty cool but they sure seem to be busy only spending about 2 days at each park before heading for the next one. May have to keep an eye open for any vacancies in the future. :-)
We also had a couple staying overnight earlier this week that were Good Sam representatives selling memberships and advertising to privately owned parks. They have a set territory, theirs was around the east coast, and were headed that way to start their work. This would also be interesting work but I'm not sure what kind of salesman I would be, may have to find out one day though :-).
We finished our week Sunday afternoon with an employee meeting after the weekly pitch in. Both of us are looking forward to a couple of days off to rest our weary bones! I foresee at least one day of doing nothing but being a lazy butt laying around in my recliner! I'll keep you posted.
The requirements are pretty extensive but this campground was already doing things "by the book" so we concentrated on making sure things were looking spiffy.
Thursday was a tough day for me. We have had a lot of rain and several of the lower lying areas in the park couldn't be mowed with the riding mower until things are completely dry. Since the inspectors were coming and it didn't look like things would be dry enough for another couple of days, I manned the push mower and started mowing the wet grass. It was hard work and I spent over 4 hours slogging through the wet areas pushing (and pulling!) the mower. Thursday was also the hottest day of the week with the temperature reaching 87 degrees mixed with 80% humidity making it a miserable day to be working outside. I took several breaks in the shade and Rudee brought me ice water several times to help me keep cool.
Once we were off work and I had taken a shower, we headed out on the bike for a "cool down" ride. We headed to Greencastle where Rob and Jany met us on their Goldwing. We had a nice visit and dinner at The Fairway Restaurant before riding back home.
Starting Fridays we report for work on the early morning shift from 8am until 1pm. Normally we don't start any yard work until at least 10:30 so we don't disturb the campers but this morning the owner wanted me start mowing with the riding mower and also do some weed eating. I headed for the shop where I gassed up the rider and tried to start it. All I heard was "click" when I turned the key, so I dug out a battery charger and hooked it up. Guess I'll try the weed eating first. I gassed the weed eater up and luckily it started and I got to work.
The grass was still wet and the weed eater tended to kick up spray, wet grass and mud. I was a mess once I finished and hopped in the shower (again!) as soon our shifts ended.
With the rest of the afternoon off we headed to Plainfield to visit Rudee's parents, pick up our mail in Brownsburg and meet up with friends Tim and Linda for dinner. We had not seen them since last October and it was fun catching up with everything that has happened since then.
We made it back to the 5er around 10pm, another late night and early work shift, man this retired lifestyle is starting to get rough! I need a day off! :-)
The inspectors arrived Sunday afternoon and started their inspections shortly after getting their rig set up. KOA provides them with a pick up truck and 5th wheel to live and travel in while doing their inspections. That would be pretty cool but they sure seem to be busy only spending about 2 days at each park before heading for the next one. May have to keep an eye open for any vacancies in the future. :-)
We also had a couple staying overnight earlier this week that were Good Sam representatives selling memberships and advertising to privately owned parks. They have a set territory, theirs was around the east coast, and were headed that way to start their work. This would also be interesting work but I'm not sure what kind of salesman I would be, may have to find out one day though :-).
We finished our week Sunday afternoon with an employee meeting after the weekly pitch in. Both of us are looking forward to a couple of days off to rest our weary bones! I foresee at least one day of doing nothing but being a lazy butt laying around in my recliner! I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
am I a "square" ?
We started yesterday morning with the rest of the work camping gang at the cafe for breakfast. We have quite a group of workers here, Ken and Nancy arrived late last week and they will be cooking breakfasts Monday through Friday. This is their 6th season here so they are old hands at work camping. We still have one more couple coming in the next couple of weeks. I'm not sure where they will fit into the schedule but they would make the 5th couple working the season here, plus there is another couple who are working part time on the week ends to pay for a site for their motorhome. Needless to say there are a lot of people wearing yellow shirts running around here :-).
After breakfast we headed to Menards for some supplies. I had some creating to do! We have a Splendide Washer/Dryer combination unit in our 5er. We love the thing but it just doesn't seem to dry things very good anymore. I have taken it apart and cleaned it but that hasn't helped much. When we were in Jamestown we strung a clothesline up but after arriving at the KOA they have rules against clotheslines being strung up between the trees. I completely understand their concerns so we looked for another option and found the plans for building a ladder mounted drying rack built by fellow RVer Larry and listed on his blog The Happy Wanderers .
We did our shopping and headed home, got 1/2 way back and realized some of the pvc elbows were not correct and headed back. We exchanged the wrong ones for the right ones and tried going home again. I took a wrong turn this time and we ended up going home the loooooong way. Rudee just takes these things in stride. She knows that when I start these little projects there will be several round trips for supplies and "what not". :-)
Back at the 5th wheel I cut the pvc pipe into the pieces that I needed.
Using the elbows and T's I followed the diagram from the instructions and put it together. Once I had it assembled I did a test "hang".
"Hey look, I built a square!" :-)
We laced the rope through the "square" and VIOLA a clothesline is born! Rudee didn't waste any time putting it to use and no those are not my undies up there. :-)
I glued some of the joints and attached some of the others with screws and wing nuts so we can take it partially apart for storage. We both like the way it turned out. We spent less than $25 for all the supplies and it was fun to build.
Shortly after finishing the clothesline and hanging out the laundry the skies darkened and we started hearing thunder. I guess hanging out laundry is just like washing your car (or motorcycle) and is a sure way to make it rain! The rain came and was it ever a downpour, it rained and rained and rained some more! We had plans to cook out on the grill but it never stopped raining so we moved inside and relaxed in front of the TV for the evening.
We have no big plans for today and judging by the skies it looks like another rainy day. I guess rain is just job security since the grass will need mowing and I will probably be the guy in the "yeller shirt" riding around on the mower. I'll keep you posted.
After breakfast we headed to Menards for some supplies. I had some creating to do! We have a Splendide Washer/Dryer combination unit in our 5er. We love the thing but it just doesn't seem to dry things very good anymore. I have taken it apart and cleaned it but that hasn't helped much. When we were in Jamestown we strung a clothesline up but after arriving at the KOA they have rules against clotheslines being strung up between the trees. I completely understand their concerns so we looked for another option and found the plans for building a ladder mounted drying rack built by fellow RVer Larry and listed on his blog The Happy Wanderers .
We did our shopping and headed home, got 1/2 way back and realized some of the pvc elbows were not correct and headed back. We exchanged the wrong ones for the right ones and tried going home again. I took a wrong turn this time and we ended up going home the loooooong way. Rudee just takes these things in stride. She knows that when I start these little projects there will be several round trips for supplies and "what not". :-)
Back at the 5th wheel I cut the pvc pipe into the pieces that I needed.
Using the elbows and T's I followed the diagram from the instructions and put it together. Once I had it assembled I did a test "hang".
"Hey look, I built a square!" :-)
We laced the rope through the "square" and VIOLA a clothesline is born! Rudee didn't waste any time putting it to use and no those are not my undies up there. :-)
I glued some of the joints and attached some of the others with screws and wing nuts so we can take it partially apart for storage. We both like the way it turned out. We spent less than $25 for all the supplies and it was fun to build.
Shortly after finishing the clothesline and hanging out the laundry the skies darkened and we started hearing thunder. I guess hanging out laundry is just like washing your car (or motorcycle) and is a sure way to make it rain! The rain came and was it ever a downpour, it rained and rained and rained some more! We had plans to cook out on the grill but it never stopped raining so we moved inside and relaxed in front of the TV for the evening.
We have no big plans for today and judging by the skies it looks like another rainy day. I guess rain is just job security since the grass will need mowing and I will probably be the guy in the "yeller shirt" riding around on the mower. I'll keep you posted.
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